Vice president ends official visit to Venezuela

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-19 09:16

CARACAS -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping left Caracas Wednesday afternoon for Brazil, winding up his official visit to Venezuela.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at a business seminar in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 17, 2009. [Agencies]

After arriving in the capital of the South American country Tuesday, the Chinese vice president has met with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Vice President Ramon Carrizales and President of Venezuela's National Assembly Cilia Flores and exchanged views on reciprocal cooperation between the two countries and on international issues of common concern.

While addressing a seminar attended by Chavez and entrepreneurs from both China and Venezuela, Xi spoke highly of bilateral ties and the all-round cooperation between the two countries.

Xi hoped that joint efforts would be made to further promote China-Venezuela friendly cooperation, including improving the cooperation mechanism and strengthening cooperation in energy and finance and seeking new forms of cooperation,

Both sides should focus on common development and deepening mutual political trust, enriching the content of their strategic partnership, Xi said.

Strengthening friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Venezuela is also conducive to the development of China-Latin America relations as a whole, he added.

Venezuela is the fourth leg of Xi's six-nation tour which has taken him to Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia. He will also travel to Brazil and Malta.